Spady lecture series gets grant

DELRAY BEACH: The Spady Cultural Heritage Museum is the proud recipient of a grant from the State of Florida allowing it to present cultural programming which includes the popular annual “Connecting Community & Culture” lecture series that begins March 1.

The $11,000 grant has also underwritten the production of a museum brochure on black history in Palm Beach County, the history and programs of the Spady Museum and other African-American cultural resources in Florida.

The programs and brochure have been financed in part with historic preservation grant assistance provided by the Bureau of Historic Preservation, Division of Historical Resources, Florida Department of State, assisted by the Florida Historical Commission.

“The following programs, which the grant has helped make possible this year, are some of the most well-attended museum series,” said Charlene Jones, museum administrator. “We welcome the community to enjoy our calendar of events and give special thanks to the Bureau of Historic Preservation for its support.”

The “Connecting Community & Culture” lecture series is also being sponsored in part by the Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency.

Lectures will be presented at 5:30 p.m. on March 1, 15, 29 and April 12 at the museum, 170 N.W. Fifth Ave., Delray Beach. The four-part series is free to the public and designed to highlight the rich cultural heritage of African-Americans in South Florida. Guest speakers, focusing on historic preservation and heritage, will give presentations, followed by question-and-answer sessions, which have generated lively discussions in the past.

The 2012 speakers include Ralph B. Johnson, retired director of FAU’s Center for the Conservation of Architectural and Cultural Heritage, and Dorothy Patterson, Delray Beach Historical Society archivist. The lineup:

• March 1: Dr. Anthony Dixon will discuss preserving your history and the Florida African American Museum Exchange (FAAME) Project

• March 15: Dr. Tameka Hobbs will speak about the history of Florida Memorial College

• April 12: Dorothy Patterson will narrate one of the Spady Museum’s “Ride and Remember” trolley tours and talk about the historic sites in the early African-American communities of Delray Beach.

In addition, on Saturday, March 10, 10 a.m.-noon, the “Ride and Remember” Trolley Tour, sponsored by Florida Power & Light, The Colony Hotel and the Bureau of Historic Preservation on the second Saturday of each month, takes riders through the city’s five historic districts. Riders tour the Spady Museum and two additional cultural highlights, disembarking at select historic sites for a closer look at the fascinating history of Delray Beach. The pickup location is the museum, the cost $15 per person.

IF YOU GOWHAT: ‘Connecting Community & Culture” lecture seriesWHEN: 5:30 p.m. on March 1, 15, 29 and April 12WHERE: The Spady Cultural Heritage Museum, 170 N.W. Fifth Ave., Delray BeachCOST: Free and open to the publicINFORMATION: Call 561-279-8883 or visit spadymuseum.org